


The Girl Who Did it for Herself

by CondonIrish



Category: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 17:57:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18429179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CondonIrish/pseuds/CondonIrish
Summary: What happened after Lisbeth saw Mikael with Erika at the end of TGWTDT





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

 

She sped down the narrow laneway at an unacceptable speed, without any concern for her own safety. In her own mind nothing could hurt her more than what she had just witnessed moments earlier. She had come to declare her love to a man she believed was the one for her, a man who had helped her a lot even though she had helped him more. She went out of her way to get him back on track. But she had done it mainly for personal reasons and not because she had been hired for it. He had given her purpose to live on. Because of him she was able to deal with the emotional and sexual abuse she had suffered at the hands of her so called guardian Nils Bjurman. She had forgotten about that fucker since she had met this man she loved, but now he was at the forefront of her mind again. So much so that she wanted to hunt down the bastard and shove another dildo up his anus, this time making sure it would stay there. Yet she didn’t feel like doing anything physical right now except driving…just a hell of a lot of driving. Maybe she would drive until she ran out of gas or until she drove into a wall or the river. She would of silently hoped for the latter to occur and wouldn’t have cared if it hurt like nothing else had. She thought about the gift she had bought him, something she had spent a lot of money on and now it had been all for nothing. Only one phrase could be formed in her head at this time. A phrase she thought she would never ever say.

 

                             ‘FUCK YOU MIKAEL’

         

………………………………………………………………………………

ONE YEAR LATER

 

It had been a year since the murder of Hans-Erik Wennerstrom and Elais    Karlson sat at a table looking at the menu but keeping an eye out for his arriving accomplice Robert Harker. He stole a look around at the other patrons enjoying their food and smiled at the thought of no finding him here. He didn’t frequent public restrooms when he lived in Stockholm one bit. In fact he had made it clear how he hated public eating places. Always preferred private gatherings because of his wealthy status. Now he was giving those chasing him the the perfect slip. It had worked so far. He looked up to see his accomplice arrive and quickly set the menu down. This was someone who was in hiding as much as he was.

    

_‘Robert’_

_‘Elias’_

_‘Good to see you.’_

_‘Likewise and I appreciate you coming like this. I heard you were on your way to France.’_

_‘I was but it’s no harm to me to change my plans at the last moment. Throws everyone off the scent.’_

 

Elias smile and considered how clever Robert was.

 

_‘That should work but going back to Stockholm would be suicide for us. They know we put the hit out on Wennerstrom. It’s a political media shitstorm and it won’t stop until they find us.’_

Robert seemed fascinated by this news.

 

_‘They can do what they want, it won’t change anything. But we must stay focused on what we’re doing next. Because if it goes wrong, we’ll have ten times the more heat on us than we have now._

Elias took another look around the restaurant just to be sure their conversation was covert. Slowly he turned his head back.

 

 _‘Go on.’_ Elias approved.

Robert reared his head in closer.

 

_‘So in two weeks time we’re going to hack into the accounts that Wennerstrom owned and then using the state of the art worm we’ve created we will hack banks throughout Europe. The worm will cripple the bank systems housing the funds in a matter of minutes. That’ll destroy any security measures and allow us to dump the funds into black market accounts while also providing us to create dummy accounts with fake funds inside them and sending everyone on a wild goose chase. By the time they discover what we did, that money will be in a dozen different accounts, ready to fund our new activities.’_

Elais stole another look around and then turned back again.

 

 _‘The plan is to have this up and running in months, not years._ Elais reminded him.

 

 _‘That’s what we’re working towards._ Robert added.

 

_‘Anything else that we need to take care of?’ Elais carefully added._

_‘Remember the one who tipped us off to Wennerstrom in the first place?’_

Elais nodded. ‘ _’Yes the hacker, we wouldn’t have got him without her._

Robert nodded in agreement. _‘Yes but she’s a liability now, because she’s the best there is. If we leave her out there, someone will find her and use her to find the money and expose us. Remember she didn’t just find Wennerstrom she ruined his career and reputation too. She must be taken out.’_

Elais gave a satisfying nod. _‘But she’s good, we’ll never find her.’_

_‘I’ve hired a cleaner, he’s got experience globally. He’ll find her before this goes down._

_‘Well if your certain, then do it.’_ Elais concluded, eager to wrap things up fast.

 

 _‘Consider it done.’_ Robert finished.

 

 _‘What’s her name again?’_ Elais asked, thinking he should have always remembered her name.

 

Robert looked up again.

 

_‘Salander. Lisbeth Salander._

Both men noticed the waiter coming towards them and quickly ended the discussion.

 

_‘May I take your orders gentlemen?’_


	2. Chapter Two

                                         2 Days Later

                         Dublin Republic of Ireland

 

Looking at herself in the mirror made her feel dirty. Not that Lisbeth Salander wasn’t used to feeling dirty in one way or another. For so long she had felt like a piece of meat. Parents who didn’t look after her or want her, father who made her what she was, a sadist guardian that used his position to grope and rape her. She thought she had all that or at least most of it put behind her after her experiences with Mikael Blomkvist. He was someone who loved her for what she was and what she wanted to be and not what others wanted her to be. She would have nearly given up her previous image if it meant she could of spent the rest of her life with him. But because of what she had seen a year ago, she had kept her image and possibly increased it too. Lisbeth stood there in the hotel bathroom in bed wear, which consisted of black knickers and her t-shirt, the one that bore a rather insulting message, FUCK YOU YOU FUCKING FUCK. She had always thought that message was for everyone else, but considering how stupid she felt for thinking she could have had Mikael, maybe that message represented her now. There was a knock on the door. She was sprung from her thoughts.

 

_‘You ok in there?’_ said the voice in a broken English accent.

 

Lisbeth didn’t feel like answering but did anyway.

 

_‘Ya I’m good.’_ Before she waited for a response, she quickly unlocked the door and walked out. She was greeted by Staci and they had met two nights previously in a bar in Dublin City Centre. Lisbeth hadn’t gone out looking for a lover or a one night stand, but yet here they both were. Did she care? No not really. She just wanted to feel some sort of normality. This mightn’t have been it, but it was as close as she was going to get.

 

_‘Wanna go out?’_ Staci asked rather sheepishly.

 

They had spent the whole previous day and most of that day in the room doing one thing or another, so fresh air was necessary now.

 

_‘Fine.’_ Lisbeth replied, trying to say as little as possible. Staci was a nice person. She was French and had been living in Ireland for a few months. Her life wasn’t great, but it would have been a little better than Lisbeth’s had been. For that reason Lisbeth envied her. After a few more minutes, Lisbeth shook herself out of her depression and got dressed, before the two of them left the hotel room together.

 

……………………………………………………………………………                               

      A few hours later.

 

Agent Zero walked down a narrow laneway in Dublin, having received details about where his target was. Making his way towards a pub called The Sackville Lounge which was located just off O Connell Street, Dublin’s main street. He normally struck at night or in the early morning so slipping away would be easier. He stopped just shy of the pub and checked his information that was stored on his P.D.A. It contained a picture of his target. It was Lisbeth Salander. Zero pocketed the P.D.A and reached into his waist coat, pulling out a Caliber pistol and attaching a silencer to it. He loaded the weapon and then concealed it before continuing on his way. Agent Zero was a professional assassin.

 

Lisbeth and Staci by now had drunk a number of drinks and weren’t in the process of slowing down. They had a booth to themselves at the other end of the pub, with their table littered with everything from shot glasses to beer bottles. While Staci seemed to be enjoying herself to some extent. Lisbeth was a million miles away and wouldn’t have noticed a thing going on around her.

 

_Want another one?’_ came Staci’s innocent voice.

 

 Lisbeth didn’t reply.

 

Staci may only have known her for a few days but she had an idea already of what kind of attitude she was capable of. She had known she was feeling pain and a lot of it. It hard been difficult not to notice the faded scars across her back during their romp, indicating some sort of abuse had been forced on her. She had wanted to ask her about it, but she knew by her body language that she would more than likely die before she opened her mouth about it. Nevertheless it was tragic what she was going through and trying to deal with. Then suddenly without warning, she heard Lisbeth’s voice ringing in her ear.

 

_‘Another drink?’_

Staci was taken aback. She hadn’t heard a word she had said a moment ago.

 

_‘Sure’_ was her blunt response.

 

Lisbeth got up and headed for the bar, still engulfed in her thoughts. The barman came to her.

 

_‘What’ll it be this time?’_

_‘Tequila, a bottle.’_ she answered

 

_‘We don’t sell it by the bottle, only in a glass.’_ The barman replied.

 

She wasn’t for refusing. _‘Give me the bottle. I don’t care how much it costs.’_

 

_‘Look girl, either buy the glass or get the fuck out of_ the _place. You and your wan over their have drunk half the pub._

Lisbeth slammed the 20 euro note down on the bar.

 

_‘Just have it there when I get back.’_

She stormed off to the toilets before waiting for him to reply…and that’s when she saw him. Standing looking at her and paying close attention to what she was doing. She studied him up and down and took notice of everything he wore. She knew what he was up to and wasted no time. She darted for the toilets, as Zero made a quick but otherwise unnoticed move towards the back and followed her out of sight of everyone else. He pulled out his weapon and planned to catch her as she went in the door of the toilet, but only remembered a sharp strike against the back of his head…and then darkness. Lisbeth had caught him out. With her pursuer unconscious and everyone in the pub completely oblivious to what had happened. Lisbeth went into her vigilante mode, something she knew this guy wouldn’t want to see.

 

                                      10 minutes later

 

An unsuspecting bar patron made his way into the gents toilets and found something he didn’t expect to see. A man lying unconscious or possibly dead, since he noticed there was a ballpoint pen inserted through his right ear. He looked like he had been mugged, but that the person who did the mugging had been more interested in causing pain than stealing money. 


	3. Chapter 3

                               Stockholm Sweden

                             1 Week Later

 

Lisbeth wrapped her jacket around here to keep herself warm while at the same time keeping an eye on her surroundings. The poorly lit street wasn’t a place she was afraid of, but her past experiences made her wary all the same. The light rain blurred her vision but not her conscious because suddenly she had a purpose again, after the information she had extracted from the hitman that had tried to kill her. What she knew could cripple the world and yet despite how she felt about herself, she was going to deal with this.

 

_‘Salander?’_

She turned around to see her contact Melissa standing there. She hadn’t told Lisbeth her surname, suspecting that was to protect her identity. Melissa likely wasn’t her real name either, but it wasn’t like she cared.

 

 _‘Have you got it?’_ Lisbeth snapped.

 

_‘Straight to the point eh Salander?’_

_‘I need what you have right away, so just hand it over.’_

 

Melissa replied. ‘ _These people are planning more than just control; it’s more of an overthrow of technology so they can track whatever they want. In everyone’s eyes, they’ll be a legal terrorist outfit.’_

Lisbeth rolled her eyes. ‘ _Why do you think I want to stop them?’_

Melissa was concerned. _Just so you know what you’re getting into.’_

Lisbeth wasn’t slightly bothered, so Melissa just proceeded with the exchange. When it was done, she walked off quickly and Lisbeth pulled out her phone.

 

_‘I have it, get me in there as soon as you can.’_

The caller assured her that they would.

 

 

………………………………………………………………………..

 

The tech room was a state of the art from the inside, but looked completely innocent from the outside. That had been done deliberately to throw the government and anyone else off the scent. Their base was a disused factory in an area largely populated by gangs and local crime. Elias and Robert were uneasy about being back in Stockholm because their fugitive status was growing in large ways due to chatter being intercepted across channels that something big was about to occur. Something potentially life threatening and that alone was enough to upgrade them from persons of interest to high priority. But whoever they were or whatever they were doing, it was their boss who had the biggest target on their head. That person was Werner Gantz and he had been the head of Germany’s biggest crime syndicate for twenty years. Everything from racketeering and murder to arms trafficking had been carried out by him. He moved tons of weapons across the ocean from Germany and Poland and back. He had earned the title of The Accomplisher, because he had a reputation for doing what others had failed to do. Not only was he feared, he was almost impossible to identify. That had been done to keep himself hidden from public life, operating through middlemen and representatives, using voice maskers when conducting phone conversations and creating false trails that made those pursuing him think he was in one place when in fact he was in another. He was so covert that the suggestion about if he was real or not had been raised on more than one occasion. Then six years ago, Interpol had cracked his group and brought him to his knees. His criminal empire reduced to nothing and forcing him to flee with a private stash of money he had deposited elsewhere. He had used that cash to buy shares in a computer company and eventually corrupted the small number of employees he chose to keep on, while letting the others go and replacing them with his own people. Then using his own influences in the company, he forced the other shareholders out and tool full control. A few years later he created the impression the firm had gone bust, giving them the opportunity to go underground and secretly develop their illegal activities. It was now an untraceable cyber unit that could hack into any financial target and could cause a complete wipe-out. By now Gantz had grown from legendary crime lord to a mastermind terrorist. He was going to steal billions from Swedish and other European banks and use the funds to create a world syndicate of hackers, crime figures and enforcers. He would use them to blackmail government and establish the world’s biggest espionage outfit that would out match any other global threat on earth. This was his plan for revenge and attempt for world power. Now with it all finally in place, this merciless act was about to take hold and Gantz was going to have a front row seat for all of it. He gathered all his conspirators around him, which consisted of more than a dozen and they were just who he employed in this facility. Elias and Robert were included.

 

  

_‘People we are all here because we have been used and betrayed by all kinds of individuals. We had to give up what we had because of deceit, lies and investigations. Because of that that you all have had to run and hide, while giving up so much that you wanted. They ran us into a hole hoping they could squeeze us out of it. Well we will come out of it, just not the way anyone expected. Tonight we will bring down our enemies and use the world’s greatest weapon as our way to attack and control them, the Internet. Tonight we are fugitives but tomorrow we will be legends. I say that to all of you and if you see it through to the end you will all have a piece of it. This is where we stop hiding and everyone hides from us.’_

The speech reached everyone in the room in a strong way because they all knew this moment had arrived.

 

 _‘Time to begin and once we do, we don’t stop until it’s done.’_ Gantz finished.


	4. Chapter 4

 

The doors to the hospital ward burst open and four paramedics came through wheeling a stretcher that contained a man with severe injuries.

 

_Unidentified male, late 20’s to early 30’s found with deep burns to his face. Also suffered a knife wound to the right rib. He’s lost a lot of blood and is unresponsive. Further minor injuries on the arms and legs. No I.D or any other form of identification found. Robbery looks to be the motive.’_

Just seeing the type of injuries the patient had suffered was enough to startle the surgeons. It looked professional and possibly personal too. The fact that he was still alive was quite a surprise and even more of a surprise that murder mightn’t have been the aim here.

 

 _‘Where was he found?’_ The head surgeon asked, trying to study the wounds closely.

 

_‘On the freeway, there was no vehicle found. He might have been chased from it or had it stolen from him. Police will be her soon and they won’t be expecting anything from him. We’ll need to find out more.’_

The head surgeon spoke up.

 

_‘Right Trauma Ward 2 please. We’ll need help with this one, we haven’t enough bodies. Call downstairs; tell them we need assistance stat._

………………………………………………………………………………..

 

Gantz stared at the many screens in front of him and took note of the activity occurring because of what his hackers were doing. In the space of only seven hours, millions had been stolen from banks right across Europe as a result of cyber activity. Millions of Euros, Zloty, Hryvnia and Pounds had all been dispersed into the black accounts and was now under his control. One by one the banks started declaring a crisis. Systems crashed and nothing was safe from the hack.

 

 _‘How much longer before we have accessed everything?’_ Gantz asked who was satisfied with the job so far.

_‘By sunrise we’ll have everything and by tomorrow night we’ll have the power to start creating influence and making demands.’_

Gantz smiled. _‘Excellent, we can dispose of the loose ends now. They’ve served their purpose.’_

The henchman obeyed and summoned two of his men to accompany him out of the room. Further down the corridor was a room where several agents of different governments had been held for many months. They had been forced to cooperate in making Gantz’s plan succeed by threatening their families and loved ones. The henchmen were fully loaded and ready to carry out their boss’s orders.

 

_‘Thank you gentlemen for your help, but we have what we need now and I’m afraid we don’t need you anymore.’_

With that cold statement delivered, he ordered his men to kill them. The only comfort the agents got was that it was over quickly.

 

In the hub of the facility were a bunch of technicians monitoring Internet traffic and the progress of the attack that was ripping through the firewalls. There were six of those techs each assigned to a computer and one of them was Lisbeth Salander. No one was aware of that because of her planning and below radar movement. Her quick skills had given her the chance to incapacitate one of Gantz’s techs and take his clearance codes, allowing her to infiltrate the base. That guy was now in the hospital with no ID. Lisbeth had certain beliefs about the way the government was run, but whatever her opinions were she was about to do them all a favour. She knew that if this attack was stopped, it would force them to change their ways in the future. That was something that Lisbeth always wanted to see. Gantz wasn’t like Bjurman or Martin Vanger, however she didn’t want innocent people having to pay for this fallout. Gantz was now her target and when Salander found a target she wouldn’t stop until she defeated them. She may have wanted to even thanks him for killing Wennerstrom, but she was still going to fuck him up.

 

Lisbeth glanced at the screens. ‘ _Let’s play you fucking fuck.’_

 

The phrase on that T-Shirt of hers very much represented Gantz.

 

Lisbeth smiled coldly at that thought. Keeping an eye on those near her, she reached into her pocket and removed a box. Opening it under the table where no one could see, she removed a flash drive and looked at it carefully She inserted the drive into the terminal and waited for the virus to upload. While that was happening she prepared a video file that she pre-recorded and what would serve as her message to her enemies. This was the threat to their plan, the crucifixion to their world of evil and sabotage.


	5. Chapter 5

Gantz looked on smugly as the security of Europe fell apart in front of his eyes. He was the most dangerous thing this world had ever faced. 

The phone at a nearby station rang and the tech picked it up. After a moment she approached Gantz.

‘Sir? Call for you. They said it’s important.’

‘Tell them not now.’

The tech answered back.

‘It’s about the operation.’

Looking concerned, Gantz moved to the workstation and picked up the phone.

‘Who is this.’ he barked into the phone.

‘I’m sending you a video file. I suggest you look at it.’ Came the Swedish accent.

Gantz wasn’t impressed.

‘Explain yourself.’

The video will do that.’ Came the reply.

Within seconds a video appeared on the computer screen in front of him. He transferred it to the big screen. To his horror, Lisbeth Salander appeared in front of him on the video.

‘I don’t think I need to explain who I am. You already know that, but what you don’t know is what I have the power to do to your little enterprise. One week ago I was feeling worthless and wanting to die. You could say I was ready to accept my fate, but then your hitman arrived in Dublin to kill me and that gave me purpose to after I turned the tables on him. He gave me everything on you and more. Then I decided I was going to end you however necessary and enjoy every second of it. This is where it starts. When this video ends, a shutdown will commence and your systems will be fried and your location exposed. But you and I will have a finale confrontation face to face, not on some computer screen. I’m here in your facility so come and find me Gantz if you can.  
The screen went blank and Gantz struggled to gather his thoughts.

‘Find that bitch and bring her here.’ The venom in his voice was extreme.

There was a brief pause. No one reacted.

‘I said do it.’ Gantx repeated as he pulled out a gun and shot the two nearest techs dead. He turned to the others who were bewildered.

‘Well?’ he asked. No response

‘I said well.’ he repeated, executing another accomplice.

Everyone scattered and went to assume their positions. The computer screens were in lockdown with all the data and funds starting to slowly disappear. Lights in the facility were blinking on and off and the alarms were going off in full blast. Gantz was fuming at the collapse and even madder that Salander had been left alive. He signalled to his armed henchmen to come with him. He quietly swore to himself that he would cut her to pieces.


	6. Chapter 6

The Swedish police had a task force gathered in the bullpen, waiting for a briefing from their superior. They were assembled in full body armour and weaponry, enough to take on an army. Two R.V’s were had been prepared and were waiting in the motor pool/ The agents knew this was a high priority case because they had heard Lisbeth Salander was involved and she was seen as an armed and dangerous vigilante. It was also connected to the crazed cyber-attack taking place across the continent.

The team leader walked in.

‘We know that Lisbeth Salander is at this location, so shoot to kill orders are in place. She may be behind this attack but is most likely involved somehow considering her history. Extreme caution needs to be taken, stay in radio contact at all times. If she and whoever she is with don’t surrender, you put them down.’  
………………………………………………………………………………

Gantz and his crew made their way down the corridors as they searched for Salander. Pure rage oozed from inside him as he went along the hallway. Pulling a Walkie Talkie from his pants, he yelled into it.

‘You better have her location or I swear I will kill everyone you hold dear.’ Gantz threatened.

Elais was scanning the floorplan, but he was starting to regret his role in this. Nevertheless he picked up a red heat signature in one of the hubs that was positioned right next to a fire safety room.

‘Got her. Hub six.’ Elais messaged with a sense of relief in his voice.

A raging Gantz turned to his men. ‘Do not kill her. I’m going to deal with her.’

The men knew better than to argue with him.

5 Minutes Later 

The mercenaries had assumed breach positions on the door. The cameras having been destroyed in the hub. Gantz had then prepared for a massive assault and elimination once they gained entry. He wanted Salander for himself and he would personal execute anyone who got her first. She had crippled his plan and maybe have sent him back to a life in hiding.

‘3, 2, 1, Breech.’

The door was blown off and the team stormed in. Three techs were lying dead on the floor and the computers around them were destroyed. Gantz scoped out the room and froze. In front of him was Slander, sealed inside the fire safety room and that made her fully protected from everyone. It could only be opened from the inside. Lisbeth for the first time in maybe her entire life had a big smile on her face. Gantz was speechless and red faced both from anger and embarrassment. Lisbeth had control of his system and he couldn’t do anything about it. Lisbeth looked Gantz in the eyes.

‘It’s between you and me now. Lisbeth smirked.

She pulled a remote from her pocket and flicked the switch. The computers behind the mercenaries exploded and several of the mercenaries got caught in the blast. In the confusion Lisbeth took her chance and activated the fire door. She went for her target and drew a gun.

 

She pointed the pistol and fired at the closest henchman, the bullet travelling through his chest sending him down. Swiftly she swapped to the other hand and deposited a round in the next armed accomplice, with a straight shot to the head that left Gantz unprotected. But he still fired off a number of shots before Lisbeth managed to shoot the gun out of his hand. Dropping her own gun and swinging her fist at him. It made contact with his jaw and then used the chance to kick him in the heel. But he was stronger and he picked her up and slammed her down hard. He got on top of her and put his hands around her throat, her legs pinned down by his weight. Her vison started to go blurry from the choking but yet she summed up her strength to produce a head-butt and then inserted her thumb into his eye and tried to gouge out his eyeball. This made him scream in pain and he released his grip on her. He rolled to one side and Lisbeth jumped up and grabbed the first thing she saw, a piece of broken glass. Wasting no time, she plunged it into his other eye and that caused painful screams from Gantz. She dropped the glass and picked up the gun, checked the magazine and fired one shot into the throat. Satisfied with his condition she dropped the weapon and returned to the fire safety room. The money had all been stored onto a system that she had accessed. The authorities would handle the rest. She made her exit through blaring alarms and fire sprinklers, before exiting through a side door. The approaching sound of sirens and helicopters was easily heard as she took the stairs. She felt a sharp pain in her side and looked down. She had been shot.


	7. Chapter 7

A joint force of local police, Interpol and MI6 had taken over the scene for analysis and had recovered the funds that added up to billions in different currencies. Systems in so many locations had been compromised by the cyber-attack and months and years lay ahead to repair it all. But at least the world’s security hadn’t fallen into enemy hands and the nation wasn’t facing blackmail and other global repercussions. Most of the individuals were dead while Werner Gantz was alive but in a comatose way. Bodies lay everywhere but Lisbeth Salander wasn’t one of them. She had disappeared again and Interpol agent Mike Walsh wanted to know why. He was studying the situation and trying to figure out what her role had been in this. Someone had obviously stopped the plot and while everyone was quick to point the finger at Salander Walsh wasn’t so sure. He knew her reputation and was aware of the sexual abuse she had suffered. It didn’t fit in with her history to be a cyber terrorist. She must have stopped this because who else would of secured the money? He decided to make finding her the number one priority. He issued an order on his Walkie.

’10:20 on Lisbeth Salander. She needs to be brought in unharmed. Priority 1.’

Walsh suspected that this act only could do only one thing for her and that was redeem. But for now he just wanted her to be found so she could tell her side of the story. That was if she wasn’t already lying dead somewhere.

 

………………………………………………………………………………..

The pain shot through her like an arrow and slowed her walking down to a turtle’s pace. Being shot hadn’t bothered her, but the pain was certainly bothering her. She had treated injuries she had suffered before. But this time she simply she didn’t have the strength to do anything. The pathway was dark and she could barely make out anything. Yet she could just about see someone ahead of her.

‘Mikeal?’ Lisbeth weakly yelled.

He seemed to be walking away from her like he hadn’t see her.  
‘Mikeal wait,’ this time barely getting the words out. 

Trying to keep moving she stumbled and nearly fell down.

‘Don’t leave me here.’ Her pleas becoming all the more desperate.

‘Mikeal why did you leave me? I loved you.’

He didn’t respond and within seconds he had vanished from sight. The tears stung her eyes and blinded her vision completely. Putting out her arms to help guide her, she used every last bit of strength to reach the man she loved.

‘Mikeal? ‘Mikeal? ‘Mik…’

She lost conscious and ended up face flat on the pavement.


	8. Chapter 8

2 Days Later

 

 Lisbeth was lying in a hospital bed, having received surgery and stitches for the bullet wound. She was in pain and wasn’t saying much. Doctors and nurses had tried to ask her what happened but to no avail. So it was decided to get a psychiatrist to try and talk to her. Lisbeth was known to several shrinks in Stockholm because of her being under the care of the state, so they would expect a difficult time with her.

 

That night as Lisbeth ate a dinner of steak and vegetables, the psychiatrist came to see her. She knocked on the door quietly and waited for an answer but it didn’t come. She knocked again before deciding to go in.

 

 _‘Hello Lisbeth.’_ The friendly woman greeted.

 

Lisbeth wasn’t happy to see her.

 

 _‘Who are you?’_ she snapped.

 

 _‘My name is Maise_ _and I’m psychiatrist. I thought_ _maybe we could talk for a while.’_

_‘About what?’_ Lisbeth sharply responded.

 

_‘Well about you. I know what you’ve been through in your life and I would like you to let me help you in trying to make peace with it.’_

Lisbeth paused for a second and then answered back.

 

_‘You being serious? Because I’ve been through too much.’_

_‘I wouldn’t lie to you, I mean that.’_ Maise replied. She was deeply concerned about this tortured young woman.

 

 _‘All I want to talk about is someone who I used to be close to.’_ Lisbeth sadly said.

 

Maise smiled. _‘Good that’s a good start. ’It’s important to talk about those you care about.’_

Lisbeth corrected her. _‘I said I used to care about him.’_

Maise’s smile shortened. ‘ _Ok well you can still tell me about him.’_

_‘I’m going to talk fast ok, so keep up.’_ Lisbeth warned.

 

Lisbeth shifted in the bed and started talking.

 

_‘I had always been alone with no one who understood me. I tried to burn my father alive when I was 12. I ended up in care and had a guardian who cared and looked after me. Then he had a stroke and I had to get a new guardian. He turned out to be a sexual sadist and used his position to rape me twice. I got my revenge and scarred him for life. Then I was hired by Hans-Erik Wennerstrom to find his daughter and I ended up fucking my partner in the case. His name is Mikeal Blomvist and he understood me like no one else. We solved the case and I thought we had a future together. Then I went to his house to declare my love to him and saw him leaving with another woman. Now I hate him.’_

Lisbeth turned away from Maise and stared at the wall.

 

Masie was stunned.

 

_‘I can’t tell you how sorry I am Lisbeth.’ But maybe you do still care about him.’_

Lisbeth didn’t take her eyes off the wall, but answered her back.

 

_‘If I did I wouldn’t have…_

Maise took notice. _‘Go on. Wouldn’t have what?’_

Lisbeth teared up again. _I wouldn’t have…aborted his baby._

Maise went wide eyed and then pale, just as Lisbeth spoke again.

 

        _‘I’m finished talking.’_

Maise attempted to get more information from Lisbeth but she wouldn’t answer.      Eventually she gave up and left the room and spoke to the doctors and Agent Walsh.

 

_‘That woman needs help and now.’ I wouldn’t try and heap praise on her for stopping that crises. She wants nothing to do with it.’_

Agent Walsh walked away, understanding.

 

Maise turned to the doctor. _‘She should be sedated so I can get the chance to talk to her again.’_

_‘Right away.’_ The doctor replied.

 

Maise quickly turned around and went back into the hospital room. When she got there she found the bed empty and the window open. The curtains blowing in the wind. Maise quickly panicked and called for help. Whoever was going to help Lisbeth, it wasn’t going to be Maise.

 

Further down the road Lisbeth ran as she decided she would maybe after all still she Mikeal Blomkvist as her friend. That was one thing Maise seemed to have reinstalled in her. The only phrase that could be formed in her head was one that sounded far better than the last one.

 

                                 I LOVE YOU MIKEAL   

 

 

 

  

 

                  

 

 

 

 


End file.
